Day 7 – Going to the hills

“After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.” Matthew 14:23 NLT

I often wondered why Jesus chose to go to the hills or mountains to pray? When I prayed about this piece of scripture, Psalm 121:1 sprang to mind every time: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills – From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” When we are sent out, we often need all the help we can get, and sometimes we look to people for this help when we should rather look up to God for our help.

Prayer is a thing of solitude. Seeking God sometimes requires getting away from everything and everyone. To climb that hill and find refuge in earnest prayer with our Creator. And while we are busy with our Kingdom work, Jesus intercedes for us. Romans 8: 34 “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” Though you might feel alone on your spiritual journey, have faith in this: Jesus intercedes for you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for showing us that we need to make time to seek You in prayer. Our lives can become consumingly busy and before we know it, we have not prayed. Earnestly prayed. Show us the “hill” we can go to pray. If it’s a quiet corner in the garden, a favourite place in our homes (or even the kitchen), remind us to come to You in prayer. Amen.